


Random Disappearances

by herprinceofdarkness



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Grief/Mourning, Other, ehhhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 06:43:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2612147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herprinceofdarkness/pseuds/herprinceofdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post 4.06 (ish).</p>
<p> - Grief strengthens & brings families together (especially the dysfunctional ones).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Random Disappearances

Damon tried. He really did. But there just weren't any good candidates in this godforsaken town.

 

At first he thought Meredith would be a worthy enough option. She was already a day drinker as it was, but she worked crazy hours at the hospital. He briefly thought about Klaus, but the whole 'evil' thing was kind of a problem for him. The wolf boy was completely out of the question. Eventually he knew how completely desperate he was when he'd almost offered Mutt a drink one day.

 

He decided he didn't need any sort of replacement. Why should he? So he grabbed a bottle of bourbon and made his way to the cemetery. To Ric's grave.

 

Settling himself on the ground, he let the cool silence wash over him as he said hello to his old friend once again. He hadn't been there since the night after his death, and he raised the bottle up in front him in a toast before taking the first sip. And then he finally talked. Talked like he hadn't in weeks.

 

His words flowed as they echoed through the night sky. He imagined Ric's rough, disgruntled replies. And that wry grin he always had plastered on his face that meant he thought you were being an idiot. [Damon fucking hated that stupid grin.] Or perhaps that thin frown Ric used when he was worried about you, but he didn't want to say anything. [Damon wasn't a big fan of that face either].

 

But Damon continued to talk about this and that, and though he firmly thought himself to be a cynic, he liked to believe Ric was somewhere out there listening to him.

 

And this continued on for three more weeks. Until one day things changed, and his random disappearances ceased to go unnoticed.

 

He was in the middle of a particularly intense heart-to-heart with Ric's headstone when he heard her walk up behind him. [She was quieter now, but not to him. He could always sense her.]

 

His words faltered and trailed off as she came up to sit next to him on the half rotten log. She didn't say anything to him, she just brought her hand up to lace her fingers through his and rested her head gently on his shoulder.

 

After a few moments, Elena begun to speak softly. "Hey Ric. It's been a while." She filled him in on everything that had been happening with her and how she was doing. Her voice lilted in pitch as she began pouring her heart out; her worries about Jeremy, her suspicions over Klaus and Caroline, her daily struggles with being a vampire.

 

She seemed not to notice [or not to care] that Damon was silently listening, rubbing gentle circles over her hand with his thumb. And when her words faded and grew quiet, he began again with his darker voice once more filling the air.

 

From then on, that's how it went. Damon and Elena would go visit Ric together. Sometimes they would talk and sometimes they would just sit together in silence. And Damon and Ric's exclusive talks became less and less frequent [but Damon strangely didn't seem to mind].

 

Once again, change occurred months later when Elena let slip to Jeremy where she and Damon often seemed to sneak off to. [It wasn't what he was expecting, by the way].

After insisting upon tagging along with them, their misfit little family was finally restored. Because they always were their own family unit, in a way. Protecting, caring for, and looking after one another. You don't need to be blood for that.

 

With Damon and Elena sitting together on their log as usual, Jeremy spread out on the ground at their feet. "We miss you, man. We all do. Nothing's been the same without you."

 

A sense of calm washed over them as a rush of wind swept over their heads. _I miss you too._


End file.
